Research suggests that workplace food programs are now commonplace, with Robert Half’s 2027 Salary Guide research finding that over 45% of surveyed employers now offer free or subsidized meals, while over 50% of employees reported that they appreciate employer-paid meals.
These numbers highlight an opportunity for Bakersfield employers to use office lunch delivery to appeal to employees’ preferences and show appreciation. Additionally, lunch delivery programs allow you to support local restaurants, introduce employees to new cuisines, and create a more convenient workplace dining experience. With Bakersfield’s food scene including what Visit Bakersfield calls an "eclectic mix” of cuisine options, the city has plenty of options to keep your workplace lunches interesting.
However, finding restaurants is only one part of the equation. If you're organizing recurring office lunches, you'll also need to consider how meals will be ordered, delivered, and distributed to employees. Working with the right office lunch delivery partner can take a lot of that responsibility off your plate.
An office lunch delivery partner is a third-party provider that helps businesses coordinate meals for employees by managing restaurant options, individual orders, and delivery logistics. Instead of having a single person contact multiple restaurants, collect everyone's orders, keep track of dietary restrictions, and coordinate with several delivery drivers, a provider can take care of everything for you.
Depending on the program, employees may be able to select their own meals from a rotating selection of local restaurants. Orders are then coordinated and delivered to the workplace at a designated time.
This differs from traditional group catering, where an office selects a set menu and orders larger quantities of food for everyone to share. This gives employees the flexibility to choose what they want while avoiding ordering more than they need.
For companies looking into providing lunches, an office lunch delivery partner can make workplace dining more consistent without adding another task to someone's workload.
For Bakersfield businesses looking to establish a consistent office lunch program, the right provider can make all the difference. After more than a decade of experience running office lunch delivery programs, Fooda has heard a few common pain points from our clients. To avoid these, here are some things to consider before making a decision.
Bakersfield has a food scene full of everything from neighborhood favorites to restaurants serving cuisines from around the world. Your office lunch program should reflect the flavors your team loves. In fact, Fooda’s 2026 survey of 100+ companies found that 87% of workplace and people leaders believe it’s important to support local restaurants in their food programs.
Look for a delivery partner with access to a wide selection of local restaurant options. This gives your employees the opportunity to try different cuisines while supporting small businesses throughout the Bakersfield community.
Having multiple restaurants available through one program also means your team doesn't have to research on their own and coordinate separate orders every time you want to switch things up.
When you're ordering lunch for an entire office, chances are there are a lot of different dietary preferences and lifestyles around the table. Employees may have dietary restrictions, food allergies, or have strong preferences. In 2025, 57% of Americans surveyed by the IFIC said they followed specific diets in the past year, up from 54% in 2024.
Fooda’s 2026 survey also found that 83% of leaders value variety in their food programs. Individual ordering through office lunch delivery can make workplace lunches more inclusive by allowing employees to choose meals that work for them. It also allows you to keep employees engaged over time, rather than having them grow tired of having to pick from the same options on repeat.
Instead of asking everyone to agree on one single restaurant or menu, look for a program that offers multiple cuisines, options, and clear menu descriptions. This flexibility can also help encourage your team members to participate in lunch. When employees know they'll have options they enjoy, they're more likely to look forward to the next office lunch.
Even the best restaurant selection doesn't matter much if lunch arrives late or creates stress for your team. Coordinating deliveries from multiple restaurants can be difficult when employees have limited lunch breaks or meetings scheduled throughout the day.
A reliable office lunch delivery partner should consistently bring orders on time. This helps create a more predictable experience for everyone and eliminates the need to track several incoming drivers.
Think about whether the provider also handles in-building delivery. You will want to ensure that no matter where your office is, you and your employees will be able to enjoy the food you all ordered at the time you expected.
Organizing a recurring lunch program can quickly become another responsibility on an already full plate. Between researching restaurants, collecting employee orders, tracking preferences, and coordinating delivery times, the logistics can take more time than expected. That's why it's important to consider how much of the process a provider is able to manage for you.
Look for a provider that handles restaurant coordination, ordering, and delivery logistics through one streamlined program. This can reduce the number of moving parts your team needs to oversee and make it easier to maintain a consistent lunch schedule.
For more ideas on simplifying workplace food logistics, check out Fooda's office manager guide to workplace food delivery.
One of the best parts of organizing office lunches is giving your team the opportunity to try something new and expand their palates. Rather than rotating between the same boring office lunches, Bakersfield’s food scene can encourage your office to explore a variety of local restaurants and cuisines.
Here are a few Bakersfield restaurants worth considering the next time you order lunch to the office.
Using fresh ingredients like grass-fed angus beef and wild-caught fish, The 18hundred offers fun twists on American classics. Named after their historic location on Chester Ave. in Bakersfield, The 18hundred has an extensive lunch menu of sandwiches, burgers, salads, and sides like their carmelized brussels sprouts and lemon cauliflower bites.
Jin Sushi can bring handcrafted sushi rolls and authentic Japanese dishes to your next office lunch. From soft shell crab to vegetable fried rice to tempura udon soup, Jin Sushi has a wide range of items for your workplace’s diverse palates and lifestyles. And if you are in the mood for sushi rolls, Jin Sushi has fresh, baked, and tempura, along with fresh sashimi and nigiri.
Family owned and operated since 1996, Don Perico is a great choice for office lunch delivery if you and your team are in the mood for Mexican food. Quesadillas, fajitas, burritos, enchiladas, and tacos are all great options that you can order from Don Perico. But they also have a lot of seafood options or “del mar,” which means “from the sea”, with dishes that feature sea bass, red snapper, shrimp, and octopus.
With everything made to order, Café Crêpes de Paris offers both savory and sweet options, ranging from crepes to paninis and breakfast omelettes. Customer favorites include their strawberry chocolate chip crepe, chipotle chicken panini, and chicken pesto crepe. They also have vegan menu items, which makes Café Crêpes de Paris a great option for large group orders.
Coordinating office lunches doesn't have to mean spending hours researching restaurants, collecting orders, and managing delivery logistics. With Fooda, you can make office lunch delivery simple.
Fooda Delivery connects businesses with a network of local restaurants, allowing employees to interact with the local food scene and select meals that match their preferences. Our operational model creates a smooth, reliable experience that’s easy to coordinate day-to-day, keeping employees engaged and allowing administrators to relax knowing everything is taken care of.
Whether you're introducing a new lunch program or looking for a better way to manage existing corporate meal delivery, we can help make the experience easier for your team.
Ready to simplify office lunch delivery for your Bakersfield employees? Talk with Fooda’s sales team to get started.
The simplest approach is individual ordering, so each employee picks a meal that fits their needs instead of sharing one group order. This matters because about 6.7% of U.S. adults have a diagnosed food allergy, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. Look for a program with clear menu descriptions, and encourage employees with allergies to confirm ingredients with the restaurant before ordering.
Catering usually means one person selects a set menu and orders larger quantities of food for everyone to share. Office lunch delivery lets each employee place an individual order from a rotating selection of local restaurants. The orders then arrive together at one designated time. Catering suits one-time events, while delivery suits recurring lunches.
Bakersfield offers a wide range, including Caribbean, Mexican, Japanese, American, and French-inspired options. Restaurants such as Mama Roomba, Don Perico, Jin Sushi, The 18hundred, and Café Crêpes de Paris show the variety available to Bakersfield offices. A delivery program that rotates restaurants keeps the menu fresh for employees who eat lunch at work every week.
Yes, though requirements vary by provider, so ask about order minimums, delivery windows, and service fees before signing up. Individual ordering works well for smaller teams because each person orders only what they want, which helps avoid leftover food. Talk with Fooda to see what a program would look like for your office size.
